SAN DIEGO (AP) — Washington Nationals catcher Keibert Ruiz left Monday night’s game against the San Diego Padres after getting struck on the head in the dugout by a foul ball off the bat of teammate Josh Bell.
The ball hit Ruiz on a bounce. He grabbed his head with both hands and immediately left the bench. He was replaced by Riley Adams.
Following his team’s 10-6 victory, Nationals manager Dave Martinez said Ruiz was getting a CT scan.
“The ball hit him pretty solid on the side of the head. We all ducked and when he went down, we kind of got scared a little bit,” Martinez said. “He had a nice lump on the side of his head. A little concerned right now. Hopefully he comes out of it OK.”
Bell wound up hitting a sacrifice fly as part of a four-run fourth inning.
It was the second time in five days a major league player got hurt in the dugout when nailed by a foul ball.
Rays pitcher Hunter Bigge was carted off the field in a frightening scene and taken to a hospital after getting struck in the face when Baltimore catcher Adley Rutschman lined a ball into the Tampa Bay dugout last Thursday night.
Bigge was placed on a backboard and gave a thumbs up before being driven by ambulance to a nearby hospital for tests. He never lost consciousness and was able to converse with first responders, Rays manager Kevin Cash said.
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